Protecting the dignity of the paper coffee filter
Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:54 amA company that sells fully automatic coffee machines for office and home use made an advertisement in which a TV comedienne, posing as a secretary, disposes of a dirty, dripping coffee filter and then spills some coffee, etc. while the boss is waiting for his cuppa and a work-time meter is running, showing how her salary is being paid for this "unnecessary" work. The film runs a full 18 seconds and the message is clear, with an automatic machine all of this mess would not be necessary.
The spot isn't all that funny, anyway, but Melitta, the inventor of the paper coffee filter, saw no humour in it whatsoever and has taken the machine company to court in an attempt to ban this openly unfair and unjust attack on the dignity of the venerable coffee filter. In a ridiculous 80 page legal brief the coffee filter giant attacks this silly advertisement that would otherwise only have been seen by a handful of people, making it a hit on YouTube and the talk of the nation. The Streisand effect seems to be a well-kept secret, at least among lawyers for big companies.
The spot isn't all that funny, anyway, but Melitta, the inventor of the paper coffee filter, saw no humour in it whatsoever and has taken the machine company to court in an attempt to ban this openly unfair and unjust attack on the dignity of the venerable coffee filter. In a ridiculous 80 page legal brief the coffee filter giant attacks this silly advertisement that would otherwise only have been seen by a handful of people, making it a hit on YouTube and the talk of the nation. The Streisand effect seems to be a well-kept secret, at least among lawyers for big companies.
